The City govt. of El Reno, is refusing a business permit to a fully legal medical marijuana dispensary. The rationale of the council seems to be claiming that a church will be suffering irreparable harm by having this medical dispensary in a commercial district which a church previously chose to also set up in.
The council moved quickly to make special ordinances specifically targeted at banning the new class of medicine, just weeks after the people of Oklahoma voted to remove the ban for those whose physicians directed such care.
Attorney Ronald Durbin posted this statement;

​ "The saga continues with the city fights. The Green Buffalo Cannabis Company was denied a permit by El Reno for being too close to a church, even though they have all of their state licenses. After a conversation moments ago, That Tulsa Lawyer decided to get involved. Here I come El Reno. Hopefully you play nice and this can be resolved without undue burden on anyone. We shall see."

State law says; "​F. No city or local municipality may unduly change or restrict zoning laws to prevent the opening of a retail marijuana establishment. "

• My name is David Deming. I have been an OU professor for 27 years. This letter expresses my personal viewpoint as a citizen of Oklahoma speaking on a matter of public concern. I am not a spokesperson or representative of the University of Oklahoma.• Higher education in Oklahoma has been taken over by a small group of radical left-wing political extremists whose views and goals are in no way representative of the vast majority of the people of Oklahoma. These people are not liberals. Hateful and irrational, they do not believe in democracy, free speech, or freedom of conscience. Their goal is to indoctrinate students in leftist totalitarian ideology and suppress all dissent by any means possible. They maintain control and power by bullying and intimidating anyone who disagrees with them. See for yourself: watch the video that shows the humiliation and profane cursing of OU President Gallogly at a Jan. 22 public meeting. In 2017, Kirk Humphreys was forced to resign from the Board of Regents at OU.

OU Professor, David Deming breaks his silence on the culture of Oklahoma's public higher education.

A lot of adults can learn from a remarkable youth named Nick.
His quiet confidence and poise exhibited the character that is largely missing in the public square.

By now you've heard the radicle swing in the narrative of what happened at 'ground zero', last weekend.

The ecumenical effort to end abortion in the USA was largely sponsored by traditional Roman Catholic organizations. Covington is a suburb of the predominantly catholic Cincinnati metro area. the Catholic schools enjoy more public support than the public school systems.
​
Covington Catholic sponsored their annual bus trip to Washington for a weekend of events. The March for Life was just one of the educational events. The kids were then allowed to visit memorials and museums.

With the passage of Oklahoma's State Question 788, Medical Marijuana became a reality for thousands of patients. Within months the first real cannabis medicine was cultivated and harvested. Dispensaries opened and product was put in consumers hands.
While the medicine was legal as of October 26th, the growers were waiting for optimal harvesting conditions, which mostly occurred after Thanksgiving.
So most licensed dispensaries waited until December to officially open and dispense to patients.
Today is January 15th. This is the day that monthly commerce reporting for December is due, to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. Melissa Miller of the OMMA explains that these reports are mandatory even if a licensed Medical Marijuana Business (MMB) has no sales to report or even product acquired for future sales.
We asked if these reports will be made public, or at least the accumulative numbers released. We're still waiting for that answer.
But the OMMA has been very forthcoming with licensing data. They provide weekly status data, announcing totals and breaking down each category.

The Tenth Amendment Center reports some new developments in the Missouri Legislature which would give belated help to patients who treated their conditions with cannabis medicines prior to 2019. ​ Veterans with PTSD and their loved ones are hopeful that the legislature will move promptly to clear those who were convicted of possession of less than 35 grams(roughly an ounce) of marijuana. Veterans suffering long term effects from their multiple deployments have often turned to cannabis meds as a far more effective treatment for flashbacks, night terrors and other anxieties associated with the stress of wartime service. But several other groups of patients are also benefiting from the new meds. Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment to assure patients' rights to seek treatment with cannabis medicines.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Jan. 3, 2019)​– Two bills prefiled in the Missouri House would expunge the sentences of some people charged under the state’s marijuana laws. Passage into law would take another step toward nullifying federal marijuana prohibition in effect in the Show Me State.

In Oklahoma, many are currently incarcerated for treating their illnesses with medicines which have since become legal.

Chairman Pam Pollard recently announced her decision not to seek another term at the helm of the Oklahoma Republican Party. This happens to coincide with the change of governor for Oklahoma. Reports tell Sooner Politics that the transition team is keenly aware of the importance of a close working relationship between the governor's office and the state GOP leadership. To that end he and Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell (a former chairman and national GOP officer) have been watching the developments and seeking to encourage specific people to step up in the elections for county and state party offices. Our sources say that David McLain, (current chair of the Tulsa County GOP) is Gov. Stitt's choice for state chairman. Retired businessman, Bob Jack, is being asked to replace McLain at the Tulsa GOP. But other noted candidates are rumored to be considering their own bids to take over the party leadership. Edmond's Bob Dani is one such name being mentioned. Dani is the founder and former leader of the High Noon Club; a midday gathering place for conservatives, to advance conservative issues and become more informed about matters of public policy.

Two names are emerging in the race to become the OKGOP's next chairman. Bob Dani may announce soon, but David McLain already has declared his candidacy.

​ The Oklahoma Ethics Commission was formed to monitor the behavior only of our elected officials and our govt. agencies. But this current Ethics Commission is mulling new rules that would force private citizens to file paperwork or face fines, if they petition their government for redress of grievance (a constitutional right). They held public hearings this past week on a set of rules which will become law, unless specifically voted down by the Ethics Commission board, or the entire legislature. Several citizens signed up to speak at the public comment period. But after the supporters all finished speaking, the commission then put time limits on everyone else.Among the great presentations , OCPA was masterful in their arguments. While Trent England demonstrated that the commission is only mandated by law to enforce ethical standards on elected officials and govt agencies, they are turning their commission against the very people whom they were supposed to be protecting.Rep. Meloyde Blancette was the initiators of this set of rules. She told SoonerPolitics that the 'dark money' in politics is so bad that something must be done. the problem is that her ideas do not in any effective way address the excuse she claims to be driven by. Namely, the 'dark money is almost completely coming from out of state entities which will never have to comply with these rules. But churches likely will be very suppressed, instead.

As we await the first 6 performance audits that were commissioned by the Agency Performance & Accountability Commission(APAC); it would be helpful to understand the private sector members of the commission. Jeff Raymond of Oklahoma Watch recently published an excellent set of biographies on each of them.​ None of these members are being paid for their work, including monthly meetings at the state capitol.

The nine members of the Agency Performance and Accountability Commission come from various backgrounds and professions. They have experience in oil and gas, banking, medicine and investment entrepreneurship. One even ran for governor and declared he wanted to shrink state government. Most appear to have conservative political leanings.Appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin:

*UPDATED:​ Representative Harold Wright -R, Weatherford, was expelled by the Oklahoma Republican Party's ruling State Committee, today. The action took place at the State Committee meeting, in Edmond, OK. OKGOP's national committeeman, Steve Curry, presented a letter of the OKGOP Executive Committee, advising action for Wright's actions, funding the campaign of a Democrat nominee(Jeff Berrong) for a state senate seat. Wright, who took money from the OKGOP for his own election, funneled at least $1000 to the Democrat effort, according to campaign reporting documents with the state Ethics Commission. Meanwhile, the OKGOP was funding the campaign of the Republican nominee(Brent Howard). Republican legislators are granted inclusion in the ruling body of the OKGOP, by being in elective office. Wright has been a State Committee member for several years. Rule 19-g states criteria for removal from office. The criteria specifically states that campaigning for, or giving money to the opponent of a Republican nominee is grounds for removal from all party leadership offices. Canadian County Chairman, Andrew Lopez made the motion on Harold Wright's immediate removal. Former National Committeeman, Steve Fair seconded the motion. The final vote was nearly unanimous with one lone voice voting 'nay'.

Tulsa talk radio host, Pat Campbell, teased an announcement as he signed off, on his Friday show. He said that a big announcement is scheduled for his Monday morning show. KFAQ Radio program director, Shelby Travis is slated to announce some programming changes. Monday is coincidently the day that podcasting god, Ben Shapiro; will be launching his national radio show, taking on 2 hours which Michael Savage is vacating, on the Westwood One network. The Shapiro daily offering is a simulcast of his webcast show for DailyWire.com at 2pm, CST. From 3-5pm, his radio-only show will air. Many stations will take the Michael Savage live show for the 2pm hour, followed by the 2 hours of Shapiro Radio. Ben Shapiro is a young prodigy who began his syndicated commentary in print at age 17. He has a law degree from Harvard and was a producer for the Michael Savage radio show several years ago, along with Laura Ingraham. He then joined the staff of Breitbart News, eventually becoming the editor, before leaving in protest to the coverage Breitbart was giving to the Trump Presidential Campaign. Shapiro has been on a station in the OKC market, on KZLS-1640, on tape delay at 10am, after the Tod Tucker morning drive show. It's not clear what exposure Shapiro will have in the OKC metro market as these changes roll out.

At a time of great displeasure with our state legislature, one senator wants to devote the government's time & energy to establishing an official state steak. Now, who doesn't enjoy a grilled T-bone, Filet Mignon, or even a Sirloin? But the panhandle cowboy wants the Ribeye to be elevated above all other cuts and given state government assistance to affirm it's value and desirability. Is there an official state swimsuit? A designated state horse? How about a declared state fishing rod?Where does this end? Should it even have begun? Now there is some value in having emblems like our flags, seal, and maybe an anthem. so we get that. Murdock is a strong proponent of rancher & farm issues. He also gets a lot of campaign cash from entities who benefit from his votes and lawmaking. We encourage Murdock to find some worthy causes to advocate for. Those of us who like strip steaks don't particularly enjoy being told that we have bad taste.

A special interest group recognizes Murdock for advancing legislation & funding.

*UPDATED:Tulsa Atty. Ron Durbin posted to his social media site that the City of Grove, in Northeast Oklahoma, changed course at today's city council meeting. They had created several barriers which were not authorized under the Oklahoma law passed last June. House Majority Leader, Jon Echols traveled to the city and explained just how it could result in city taxpayers being liable if their ordinance had been challenged by a person claiming damages from illegal acts committed by the city. It would result in the city having to pay a marijuana business and/or sick patients who are authorized to treat their illnesses with legal cannabis medicines.​ Here's the impromptu post from Mr. Durbin..

Victory!!! My client 420 Releaf can open!!! Grove City Council just voted 4-1 to remove their restrictive ordinances. You will recall they promised before and backed out at the last minute resulting in me explaining to them the consequences of breaking their word. You can find that letter on the firm Facebook feed. Apparently they even had Rep. Jon Echols come to the meeting where he reminded them it is the law as written in the State of Oklahoma. Oklahomans for Health, Norma Sapp, Uncle Grumpy.

​We recently moved our blog. Our archives are still partially stored at our old site.

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David Van Risseghem is the Publisher of SoonerPolitics.org. The resource is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform. This endeavor seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement...

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David Van Risseghem is the Publisher of SoonerPolitics.org. It is committed to informing & mobilizing conservative Oklahomans for civic reform & restored liberty. We seeks to utilize the efforts of all cooperative facets of the Conservative movement...